Kelly Tasker, a grandmother at the age of 44, battled homelessness for nearly a decade. Through the help of the Compassion Center in Gilroy, Tasker found her first permanent apartment that would have given her a chance to get help with her chronic illness and lift her partner off the streets. But for Tasker, along...
Where can San Jose homeless residents warm up this winter?
San Jose is opening two temporary overnight warming centers to provide shelter for unhoused residents as temperatures continue to dip. The City Council voted unanimously this week to restart the annual program. The city picked two new locations this year, the Evergreen Branch Library on Aborn Road and the Leininger Center on Senter Road—both located in...
Homeless deaths soar in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County saw a record high number of homeless deaths this past year, a somber reminder of the exacerbating housing crisis and inequality in one of the wealthiest regions in the nation. The number of people who died on the street in the region has grown in the last few years. In 2020, the area...
Homeless shelter, advocate clash over COVID protocols
An outbreak of COVID-19 infections in a county-owned shelter has prompted concerns from a homeless advocate who lives there, even though managers claim they’re following safety protocols. The Sunnyvale Family Shelter, owned by Santa Clara County and run by nonprofit HomeFirst, saw five cases of COVID in November, HomeFirst confirmed with San José Spotlight. The...
Explosion at San Jose’s largest encampment leaves resident without RV
As homeless resident Deborah Santos watched her trailer go up in flames, she and her son wondered where they would stay—a homeless shelter, a motel room or maybe even a temporary tiny home. She was given a two-person tent and a blanket. Residents at the Columbus Park homeless encampment near downtown San Jose say a...
San Jose State gives students more access to emergency beds
San Jose State University students achieved a small victory for peers in need of temporary emergency beds. The university recently agreed to allow students access to the beds for four weeks rather than 48 hours without asking them to take out a loan, Lana Gomez, president of the Student Homeless Alliance, told San José Spotlight....
San Jose clears more than 200 homeless encampments
San Jose has cleared out 224 homeless encampments since January, with more than 75% of those removals happening in Districts 3 and 7, city data shows. City officials said a sweep could mean booting one person from their camping spot—or clearing out a massive site with multiple people. Advocates, who have long called for the...
San Jose officials exploring more potential Project Homekey sites
San Jose officials are quietly inquiring about hotels that might fit the criteria to acquire through Project Homekey funds in 2022. Mayor Sam Liccardo recently contacted the owner of two hotels—the Quality Inn on 13th Street and the Tully Inn on Tully Road—to see if they might be a good fit for the Project Homekey...
‘You’re not wanted here’: Advocates decry barriers around San Jose homeless camp
In an effort to clear one of the Bay Area’s largest homeless camps, San Jose installed barriers near Columbus Park right before Thanksgiving, prompting concern from some unhoused advocates. The city installed K-Rail barriers at the intersection of Spring and Hedding streets and east of it earlier this month. The city also placed “no outlet/not...
Nonprofits bring Thanksgiving meals to San Jose’s homeless residents
Folks tend to travel long distances to eat on Thanksgiving. But for unhoused residents in San Jose, Thanksgiving dinner is coming to them. Amid the homeless encampment at Columbus Park in San Jose, faith-based nonprofit CityTeam helped brighten up Thanksgiving for many unhoused residents by bringing hot meals to the park. The nonprofit has a tradition...